The fifth-ranked Middlebury women's tennis team came from behind to edge #2 Pomona-Pitzer 5-4 in a thrilling NCAA Quarterfinal matchup on Monday night. The lengthy contest came down to the third set at #2 singles, where
Sahana Raman outlasted her opponent to clinch the match just past midnight. The Panthers (18-5) have a quick turnaround, taking on #1 University of Chicago at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday with a trip to the championship match on the line. The Sagehens, who were making their first appearance in the quarterfinals in over a decade, conclude the season with a 21-3 record.
Raman and
Claudia Miller came out strong at doubles #3, not allowing a single point in the first game, and never looked back. The pair triumphed 8-5 to pick up the first point for Middlebury and tally its 20th victory of the season. The Sagehens grabbed a point at the top of the lineup to tie the contest 1-1, before earning a triumph at #2 to take a 2-1 lead heading into singles play.
Pomona-Pitzer carried its momentum into singles, nabbing a quick point in the top spot for the 3-1 advantage.
Tied at 3-3 in the first set at #3, Miller won three-straight games to secure a 6-3 victory, not allowing a single point in the eighth and ninth games. The second set was knotted at three games apiece as well, but Miller held strong to earn a 6-4 win and pull Middlebury within one (3-2).
Amanda Frank tied the match 3-3 with an impressive performance in the sixth slot. She jumped out to a 6-3 victory in the first set, before shutting out her opponent in the second (6-0).
The Sagehens took a 4-3 edge with a 6-4, 6-3 triumph at #5.
In the fourth spot,
Amy Delman cruised 6-4 in her opening set, before Pomona-Pitzer's Janie Marcus made it an exciting match. Delman was within reach of grabbing a point, as she led 5-2, but Marcus wouldn't go away easily, battling back to knot the set at 5-5. Delman stayed strong, winning a pair of games to tie the contest at 4-4 with her 20th singles win of the year.
The trip to the NCAA Semifinals came down to the match on the second court. Raman fell 6-4 in the first set, before slowly mounting an incredible comeback. She trailed 5-3, before tying the set 5-5 and again at 6-6 to force a tiebreaker. The tiebreaker was tied four times before Raman gained some breathing room. Knotted at 7-7, she tallied two-straight points to secure the 9-7 tiebreaker, propelling the match into a third set. Raman fell behind 4-2 in the final set, but chipped away at the deficit, knotting the contest 4-4. She took a 5-4 edge to put the match within reach. The 10th game saw a pair of deuces, but Raman hung on to take the game (6-4) and clinch the match for Middlebury.
With the win, the Panthers avenged their 5-4 regular-season loss to the Sagehens, and advance to the semifinals for the fourth time in program history.
